Hosea 4

¹Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!

²Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.

³Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.

⁴But let no man contend; let no man offer reproof; for your people are like those who contend with a priest.

⁵You will stumble by day, and the prophet will stumble with you by night; so I will destroy your mother—

⁶My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

⁷The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; they exchanged their Glory for a thing of disgrace.

⁸They feed on the sins of My people and set their hearts on iniquity.

⁹And it shall be like people, like priest. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their deeds.

¹⁰They will eat but not be satisfied; they will be promiscuous but not multiply. For they have abandoned the LORD to give themselves

¹¹to promiscuity, wine, and new wine, which take away understanding.

¹²My people consult their wooden idols, and their divining rods inform them. For a spirit of prostitution leads them astray and they have played the harlot against their God.